Babysitter said he was annoyed with toddler, who later suffered head injuries and sexual assault

Alaina Potrikus / The Post-StandardAlec B. Champagne, 13, is ushered into a state police car late Friday afternoon after appearing at a preliminary felony hearing in Floyd Town Court in Oneida County. The Whitesboro teenager is accused of beating to death the 2 1/2 year old girl he was babysitting June 18. Sufficient cause was found to send the matter to a grand jury

Alec Champagne arrived at 7 p.m. June 18 to watch Irene Calhoun’s two young children at their Yorkville home while she went out to dinner.

The Whitesboro eighth grader first told state police investigators that he had given the children animal crackers and juice as they sat on the couch and watched television until it was time to go to bed.

In later written and verbal statements, however, the 13-year-old admitted to physically and sexually assaulting 2-year-old Melissa Calhoun, who was found dead the next morning.

The Whitesboro eighth grader, who was charged with second-degree murder earlier this week, appeared Friday afternoon in Floyd Town Court for a preliminary felony hearing. After a town justice ruled there was sufficient evidence of the crime, Champagne was brought to a secure juvenile detention center without bail pending consideration of an indictment by the Oneida County grand jury.

The three-hour hearing revealed more information about the events leading up to the death of the toddler, who suffered severe head injuries.

In his first written statement, Champagne said the toddler woke up around 11:15 p.m. with a split lip. Champagne said he comforted her and she fell asleep in his arms just before midnight. Irene Calhoun arrived home around 1 a.m.; when she found her daughter unresponsive the next morning, Champagne said he called 911.

New York State Police Investigator Chad Tangorra said Champagne’s first change to the sequence of events was the admission he had set her down in the bedroom "not so nice."

"I said I didn’t think he was being completely truthful with us," said Tangorra, who had responded to the Calhoun home at 9:30 a.m. and seen the toddler’s injuries.

In subsequent questioning, Tangorra said Champagne admitted to pushing the toddler in the living room and causing her to hit her head.

"He said she wanted to play with him," he said. "He said she was being annoying and that the rage had come out in him."

In the new version of events, Tangorra said the teenager admitted he:

• "Popped her in the mouth," demonstrating the action with a backhanded motion.
• Hit her with the door of the refrigerator, causing the child to hit her head on the leg of a table.
• And caused her to fall from her mother’s bed and strike her head on the nightstand.

"I asked him if she was in pain," Tangorra said. "He did say she cried."

Tangorra said the teenager also admitted to repeated sexual contact and that he swore at the child. "He said he ‘swears at them once in a while, but not a lot,’¤" Tangorra said. "He was angry with her."

Champagne said the toddler was alive when he put her to bed. "He said he could feel her heartbeat and he could hear her breathing," Tangorra testified.

When questioned by Champagne’s attorney about the four-hour interrogation, Tangorra said he initially didn’t expect it to take long. While waiting at the Marcy barracks for a trooper trained to work with children, Tangorra said he talked to Champagne and his mother about soccer and baseball.

"As far as I was concerned, no crime had been committed," said Tangorra, who read Champagne his Miranda rights in the presence of his mother, who gave her consent for the questioning. "He was the caretaker of the child the night before."